Measuring alternative asset prices in an emerging market: The case of the South African art market

This article explored the work of Strijdom van der Merwe, the concept of land art and the notion of the artist’s book in the context of the historical and contemporary art market. The premise of the article is the view that if something can be called art, it can also be sold, even if it is an art form that seems ‘impossible’ to sell, such as land art. This article considers the position of Van der Merwe, the pre-eminent South African land artist, in the somewhat unlikely context, of the South African art market. Van der Merwe is a successful full-time land artist, which is a rare phenomenon in the South African art scene. Indeed in the 1960s, land art was deemed impossible to sell anywhere, and this article explored the extent to which this is still the case today. The research method of the article comprised semi-structured interviews and a literature review. It was argued, in view of Van der Merwe’s work, that whilst it may be true that if something can be called art, it can be sold, then the proviso ‘somehow’ must be added when referring to seemingly ‘impossible art’.

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An analysis of cost of capital, capital structure and capital budgeting practices: a survey of South African listed companies

Meditari Accountancy Research ◽

10.1108/10222529200800011 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 16 (2) ◽

pp. 31-52 ◽

Cited By ~ 17

Author(s):

C. Correia ◽

P. Cramer

Keyword(s):

Capital Structure ◽

South African ◽

Cost Of Capital ◽

Emerging Market ◽

Capital Budgeting ◽

Listed Companies ◽

Sample Survey ◽

The South ◽

Equity Ratio ◽

Finance Theory

This study employs a sample survey to determine and analyse the corporate finance practices of South African listed companies in relation to cost of capital, capital structure and capital budgeting decisions.The results of the survey are mostly in line with financial theory and are generally consistent with a number of other studies. This study finds that companies always or almost always employ DCF methods such as NPV and IRR to evaluate projects. Companies almost always use CAPM to determine the cost of equity and most companies employ either a strict or flexible target debt‐equity ratio. Furthermore, most practices of the South African corporate sector are in line with practices employed by US companies. This reflects the relatively highly developed state of the South African economy which belies its status as an emerging market. However, the survey has also brought to the fore a number of puzzling results which may indicate some gaps in the application of finance theory. There is limited use of relatively new developments such as real options, APV, EVA and Monte Carlo simulation. Furthermore, the low target debt‐equity ratios reflected the exceptionally low use of debt by South African companies.

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Declining labour share of income in South Africa: the Kalman filter approach

Journal of Economic and Financial Sciences ◽

10.4102/jef.v8i2.99 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 8 (2) ◽

pp. 372-391

Author(s):

Irrshad Kaseeram ◽

Darma Mahadea

Keyword(s):

Kalman Filter ◽

Labour Market ◽

South African ◽

Emerging Market ◽

National Income ◽

Absorption Capacity ◽

Relative Distribution ◽

The South ◽

Labour Share ◽

Long Run

Recent research has shown that in both developed and emerging market economies, the labour share of national income has exhibited a declining trend since the 1980s. Research investigating the problem of high unemployment in the South African economy has inferred that this problem arises partly because of past and current socio-political conditions, low rates of economic growth, labour market rigidities, globalisation and institutional arrangements. As the labour absorption capacity is rather low, many people are unable to earn an income from an engagement in the formal labour market. This is likely to have implications for the relative distribution share of labour and capital in the country’s national income. However, no recent published research has investigated this phenomenon in the South African context. Thus, this paper attempts to shed some light on the problem. Using yearly data from 1946 to 2013, the study employs the Kalman filter methodology within the standard Cobb-Douglas production function framework to investigate how labour and capital shares as well as total factor productivity have been behaving in this period. The results indicate that the share of total income going to labour has decreased over the long run, while that of capital has increased. Specifically, the share of capital increased from 3.1% in 1980 to 12% in 2013, while that of labour decreased from 91% to 83%. This reflects a rising income inequality and concentration of wealth, with output and income generation shifting to technological- or capital -intensive production requiring more skilled labour, a trend also observed in certain other countries.

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Art investment in South Africa: Portfolio diversification and art market efficiency

South African Journal of Economic and Management Sciences ◽

10.4102/sajems.v19i3.1397 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 19 (3) ◽

pp. 358-368 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Ferdi Botha ◽

Jen Snowball ◽

Brett Scott

Keyword(s):

South African ◽

Price Index ◽

Stock Exchange ◽

House Price ◽

Art Market ◽

Government Bond ◽

The South ◽

Bond Price ◽

House Price Index ◽

Significant Difference

Art has been suggested as a good way to diversify investment portfolios during times of financial uncertainty. The argument is that art exhibits different risk and return characteristics to conventional investments in other asset classes. The new Citadel art price index offered the opportunity to test this theory in the South African context. Moreover, this paper tests whether art prices are efficient. The Citadel index uses the hedonic regression method with observations drawn from the top 100, 50 and 20 artists by sales volume, giving approximately 29 503 total auction observations. The Index consists of quarterly data from the period 2000Q1 to 2013Q3. A vector autoregression of the art price index, Johannesburg stock exchange all-share index, house price index, and South African government bond index were used. Results show that, when there are increased returns on the stock market in a preceding period and wealth increases, there is a change in the Citadel art price index in the same direction. No significant difference was found between the house price index and the art price index, or between the art and government bond price indices. The art market is also found to be inefficient, thereby exacerbating the risk of investing in art. Overall, the South African art market does not offer the opportunity to diversify portfolios dominated by either property, bonds, or shares.

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Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in the South

10.26686/wgtn.13022528.v1 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Nan O'Sullivan ◽

David Hakaraia

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

South African ◽

Teaching And Learning ◽

Radical Change ◽

The South ◽

African Art ◽

Scholarship Of Teaching ◽

Critical Pedagogies ◽

Art Design

In this review of Standing Items: critical pedagogies in South African art, design and architecture, edited by Brenden Gray, Shashi Cullinan Cook, Tariq Toffa and Amie Soudien, book reviewers Nan O’Sullivan and David Hakaraia explain how this book casts light on discussion points, awkward conversations, skewed demographics and pathways to radical change in these disciplines in South Africa.

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The influence of the fine art market on the work produced by black artists (post 1994)

10.51415/10321/495 ◽

2009 ◽

Author(s):

◽

Thembalakhe Shibase

Keyword(s):

South African ◽

Art Market ◽

Fine Art ◽

Historical Background ◽

Street Art ◽

Major Influence ◽

African Art ◽

Black Artists ◽

Black South African

This paper explores the chronological relationship between the fine art market and the work produced by black South African artists since the emergence of a black urban class in the 1940s. It stems from the hypothesis that historically the art market had (and to some degree, still has) a major influence on the works produced by black artists in South Africa. In the introduction I contextualized the title of this dissertation by discussing the definitions of the terminology which feature therein. In Chapter One I have contextualized the study by looking at the historical background (the pre-1994) of South African art. I have specifically looked at how the socio-political conditions of that time influenced the work produced by black South African artists, hence the emergence of Township Art and Resistance Art. In Chapter Two I looked at the roles played by art institutions, galleries, and organizations in the stylistic developments made by black South African artists between the 1950s and 2000. The discussion of the influential role played by such informal institutions as Polly Street Art Centre, Jubilee Art Centre, the Johannesburg Art Foundation and many others on black artists forms a greater part of this chapter. Also included in this chapter is the discussion which examines the hypothesis that many black artists who do not have a formal academic background constitute a greater part of the informal art market. Tommy Motswai, Joseph Manana and Sibusiso Duma are examples of such artists and their work is discussed in depth. David Koloane, De Jager, Anitra Nettleton and other writers who have made literary contributions to South African art history, have been extensively cited and critically engaged in this chapter. iv In Chapter Three I discussed contemporary perceptions of the formal art sector, particularly in the post apartheid period. In this regard I looked at what defines mainstream or high art and how it differs from the marginal forms of art which are discussed in the preceding chapter. In this discussion I looked at the work of Sam Nhlengethwa, Colbert Mashile and my own work. In my discussion of their work I mapped out the characteristics of contemporary mainstream art, focussing primarily on 2-dimensional art.

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The South African Art Centre

Third Text ◽

10.1080/09528822.2013.795697 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 27 (3) ◽

pp. 315-326

Author(s):

Eben Lochner

Keyword(s):

South African ◽

The South ◽

African Art

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Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in the South

10.26686/wgtn.13022528 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Nan O'Sullivan ◽

David Hakaraia

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

South African ◽

Teaching And Learning ◽

Radical Change ◽

The South ◽

African Art ◽

Scholarship Of Teaching ◽

Critical Pedagogies ◽

Art Design

In this review of Standing Items: critical pedagogies in South African art, design and architecture, edited by Brenden Gray, Shashi Cullinan Cook, Tariq Toffa and Amie Soudien, book reviewers Nan O’Sullivan and David Hakaraia explain how this book casts light on discussion points, awkward conversations, skewed demographics and pathways to radical change in these disciplines in South Africa.

Download Full-text